| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Little Monadnock, MA |
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 | Trails: |
Metacomet Monadnock Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 10, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
We parked at the plowed end of Monument Rd, which was 1mi south of Rt 119. Room for a car or two here. Road was plowed well enough for any car up until this point. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
I think there was a couple in the marshy area north of Larry's Pond. Rock hopable but slightly tricky/high if memory serves correctly. Note the bypass in the "Comments" section as well. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
The NET/MMT is blazed in white. My memory is fuzzy at this point, but I think it was blazed pretty regularly and frequently. Most or all jcts were signed, but at least one sign was awkwardly placed and we missed the right hand turn off Dean Farm Rd. I don't recall much in the way of blowdowns, but that's not saying much. I think it was mostly small debris in the trail. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
My friend had one that did fine. Steep and a little scrambly coming off the north side of the peak but beyond that should be doable for most any dog. |
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 | Bugs: |
I think it was finally warm enough that we saw snowfleas! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
This was a redline of the NET/MMT from partway down Monument Rd (we started 1mi south of Rt 119) to the center of Troy, NH by the old railroad car and where there's parking for the rail trail. A lot of roadwalking involved in this section: about 2.3mi at the start, (not all of which is drivable, at least not in winter for most cars), then another section at the end that I think was abut 1.75mi long (Old Richmond Rd, though shown as a trail, I believe was indeed a dirt road). The trail felt VERY long before it finally began to ascend Little Monadnock (more than 2mi) but was easy. Note that there's a bypass ("Dry Shod Bypass Trail) about the swampy area north of Larry's Pond that's not shown on Gaia or mentioned in the MA guidebook. I believe it said that it was 0.5mi long. We did not do it and the section of trail we were on was not particularly wet beyond the snow.
Snow depth at the time was not nearly enough for snowshoes. We carried microspikes but never put them. They were definitely sections where they would have been very useful, but we went with our "dumb young men" mojo instead. Grades were mostly easy. Some rock/ledge but moderate on the south side of Little Monadnock. There's a steep ledge you have to descend at the end of the ledge/views on the north side. We slid down at one point. After this, the descend was easy/moderate, I believe.
So glad to (unexpectedly!) get out with a friend this day to celebrate his birthday :) Gaia had us at 8.8mi, 1025ft of gain (1230ft of descent), 3hr54min. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney and Christopher Cameron |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-01-27 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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